Dr. Saskia Schäfer
- Head of the research group „Exploring and Activating the Democratic Potential
of Religion in Times of Growing Antisemitism and Racism”
Profile
Saskia Schäfer's research examines democracy, religious nationalism, and minority politics from a comparative perspective. Her book Mobilizing Mainstream Islam: The Politics of Orthodoxy in Indonesia in Comparative Perspective (Cornell University Press, January 2026) analyzes how political competition in post-Suharto Indonesia drives religious homogenization and exclusion. She currently heads the research group “Democratic Religion,” which examines how religious education in political education can strengthen democracy and counteract anti-Semitism, racism, and related forms of discrimination.
Project description
In Germany, tensions are growing along religious and identity lines. The project team is investigating how religious education can strengthen democracy. The aim is to establish democracy education as part of religious education in schools and political education organizations. Experts from the fields of political science, didactics, and political education, as well as representatives of various religious denominations, are developing and testing new formats to be presented in schools, teacher training courses, and on social media. Cooperation partners in Dr. Saskia Schäfer's (HU) project are Prof. Dr. Sabine Achour, Freie Universität Berlin; Praxisstelle Bildung und Beratung (Practical Center for Education and Counseling); Kreuzberger Initiative gegen Antisemitismus (Kreuzberg Initiative Against Anti-Semitism), Berlin; and Meet2Respect.
The project “Exploring and Activating the Democratic Potential of Religion in Times of Growing Anti-Semitism and Racism” is funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.
Academic Career
Before joining Humboldt University, she held postdoctoral positions at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and the Institute for Religion, Culture, and Public Life, both at Columbia University in New York City, as well as at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She received her PhD in political science from the Otto Suhr Institute for Political Science at Freie Universität Berlin in collaboration with the multidisciplinary graduate school “Muslim Cultures and Societies.”
Selected Publications
- Schäfer, S. (2026). Mobilizing Mainstream Islam – The Politics of Orthodoxy Religion in Indonesia in Comparative Perspective. https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501785252/mobilizing-mainstream-islam/#bookTabs=1
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